When I was a little girl my dad and I made a deal: he'd come to my tea parties if I'd watch football with him on Sundays. (This was way before NFL games aired nearly every day of the week!)

Having tea with Dad was nothing short of hilarious. He'd sit in a tiny chair at my little table and use his thumb and forefinger to lift the toy teacup. He'd drink my pretend tea with his pinky finger sticking out and do his best royal English accent. He'd always say something like, "Oh dear! I've spilled my tea. Be a princess and ring for the upstairs maid will you dahhhling?" (Just writing about it still makes me laugh out loud.)

Once our tea party was finished, we'd head downstairs to catch the game. During the commercials Dad would pretend to run plays with me, which (I realize now) is how he taught me the rules. It's also how he taught me to love football.

I don't have a lot of tea parties these days but I never miss an NFL game. The pre-season starts on Aug. 3 with a match-up between the Cowboys and the Cardinals. I'll be right there in front of my TV doing what Dad taught me to do: looking for the newest star players, predicting which team will make the playoffs, and maybe even running a few mock plays with my kids. They don't love football yet but I'm working on it. I think of it as a generational passing game - I pass down what my dad taught me and my kids catch my football bug. That way I'll always have someone to watch with - no matter what day or night the games are played.